COMPIERE (Open Source ERP)

Dear all,
I have just heard about COMPIERE a Free Open Source Software and I have
been told that it is an ERP as well.
Is Compiere really an ERP? How many modules does it have?
Has any of you used it? Does it require a lot of coding during
implementation?
What other products does it compare to, FOSS or not?
How would it do for an organisation with over 3000 people?
Thanks
=========================================
Nick Wambugu
=========================================

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I have not used it. IT is reputed to be an ERP, but of course that is
OPEN to debate (pun intended). Whether or not to include an open source
product as a solution for a complex project requires even more diligence
than usual since the product is a moving target, and credible
information may be even harder to come by than usual.

As to Paul's points ("the product is a moving target")...I
wouldn't exactly call any product (SAP, Oracle, Sage, et al)
stationary. Functionality (and bugs) are always being
introduced, just on a release schedule. "Credible information"
is as hard to come by for any product, you have to consider the
source of the info, know your own requirements, etc.

Of course there are considerations with open source vs. vendor /
commerical products.

I hope you're not serious! If a company really needs an ERP
system, then they need it to work, and to support their unique business
needs and processes. And this is much more critical than initial
purchase cost. Open source makes the licensing cost a non-issue.
However, the licensing cost is the smallest cost of implementing ERP.

What I have seen in my many years implementing ERPs is that some main costs has more to do with the human factor than with the ERP bugs and enhancements.

As a matter of fact, I came accross an article around 2 years ago saying that around 13% of big companies in Europe are evaluating whether ERP support contracts are really worth having. Those companies complain that they open very few TARs along the year and still have to face a lousy service. Not to mention that depending on the level of customization, the ERP may not be supported at all. They feel that it´s cheaper to hire punctual consultants to solve the problems than to pay around 20% of initial costs yearly for support.

Some of huge costs I have seen concerning ERP implementations are:

1) Learning Curve towards the system - This is the first level support that allways needs to be taken care of by the customer. There are functionalities that users will only use from time to time and which the learning curve may be long

2) Learning Curve towards the new policies and procedures - Periodically checking whether the policies are being followed is something that few companies do after the go-live. Therefore they suffer from stuff like poor data (like lack of unmet sales order that could impact the demand in demand planning modules), and lousy results (usually in GL, inventory or costing modules) due to something that was not previously done upstream.

3) Changing requirements: Usually companies pay so much for an ERP implementation that they ignore their business requirements may change from time to time. System maintainance is rarely done to adopt the new requirements due to the high initial cost this client had with the ERP implementation. The result is having a system that may have a huge GAP if compared with the companies´s true needs as time goes by.

4) Having to upgrade versions due to fact old system will not be supported anymore. I know a couple of big companies in Brasil that due to the huge impact in upgrading their system, they choose not to migrate to newer versions. This forces the client to have a non-supported system when "not so old versions" stops being supported.

Those are the type of costs that either a tradicional ERP or an open source

Yes to all of these. Moving toward an integrated information
platform is really a commitment to an ongoing way of running and
managing the business, and this is what companies of all sizes overlook.
This is where the true costs come in.

If I am not wrong, main (only?) advantage of Free Open Source is customizations. May be we can save some costs of implementation but as somebody already said - its not big percentage.

I personally dont think free open source is very useful because I feel we should use vanilla product and create only new reports using the Source. None of the others like Libraries, Program Scripts, Functions, etc., should be touched.

If they are touched, you are detaching yourself from the patches, service packs from the vendor. They may bring new bugs but they also bring new functionality keeping-up with the new trends in the industry.

Preface by saying I'm not an open-source zealot...
Regarding customizations...the mantra on every ERP project in my
18 years of experience has been "go vanilla." Realistically that
almost never happens. If you have a greenfield implementation
perhaps you have a shot at it. If the company is moving from any
entrenched system (especially a home-grown one), it is very
likely they will refuse to modify their processes or whatever to
accommodate the package. Many vendors make it a selling point of
how easy it is to modify their software (changing screens,
etc).

Regarding new functionality and bug fixes...who better to
understand exactly what new functionality is required, or to
uncover bugs, than the customers using the software? I've
uncovered numerous bugs in vendor software, because the client
happened to be the first one to configure the system in a
certain way. Note the earlier posts about "lousy" support and
companies with (highly customized) systems going off support
(because a vendor will not support a customized system). Getting
support from an end user community (as with open source
software) isn't foreign to the big vendors also. Besides formal
user groups, there are pleny of discussion boards out there for
customers to share information.

That's a tough question, since Compiere doesn't really have a whole lot of manufacturing functionality. If you're looking for an ERP for light distribution/retail, you probably should give it a look - however, if you're a manufacturer, you'll be disappointed. Take a look at OpenMFG, www.openmfg.com, which is built with open source components (unlike Compiere, which requires an Oracle license (!),) and also features a hybrid source code license (where customers and partners get full source code, and can contribute to ongoing development like an open source project).

The other main difference? It's not free - but you'll find OpenMFG very competitive with most any proprietary solution you're looking at - and what's more, we publish our pricing, and even offer an online calculator to let you compare our pricing plans (annual subscription and traditional perpetual license)- www.openmfg.com/solutions/pricing./solutions/pricing.

We are a supply chain consulting firm in Pakistan. We are evaluating an Open
Source ERP which can be deployed at Textile/Footwear Manufacturers. I hope
you can guide us to the right resources where we can benefit from the Open
Source Community.

We do have an office in Pakistan, Karachi.
Our software is a vertical solution built within Dynamics AX providing
full coverage of Apparel & Textile requirements, track materials from
raw fiber to the finished product in the shop.

Blue Fox Enterprises N.V. (Blue Fox) announces that its subsidiary Blue
Fox PORINI signed an agreement with Microsoft to commercialize the
software that has been developed for the Textile & Apparel Industry.

As a full partner in the Microsoft Dynamics Industry Solutions program.
The signing of this agreement concludes the development phase, which
started in December 2005. After the certification of the first release
mid-January, this new Blue Fox Porini software solution will now be
included on Microsoft's pricelist as Microsoft Dynamics AX for Apparel
and Textile.

Porini solutions extend and enhance the functionality of Microsoft
Dynamics AX, expanding the industries and business functions supported
by Microsoft Dynamics. The Microsoft Dynamics AX software developed by
Blue Fox PORINI for the Textile & Apparel Industry comprises integral
end-to-end Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). The software is therefore
highly suitable for a corporate environment as well as for plant-level
solutions for day to day manufacturing operations. This software
enhances the flexibility of process control and thus delivers
competitive advantages for its users. It is based on almost 40 years of
software design experience.

Feel free to contact us for any comment/discussion or perhaps better,
you can contact our Karachi office email@removed you can
also find more information on www.bluefox.nl

You should look at datatex, www.datatex,com
our solution NOW is the only true J2EE ERP for the textile industry, and it
actually works.
We have references to show and including our previous version have the
largest textile install base in the world.
We are well presented in Pakistan, so send me a mail and we can speak:
email@removed